6 facts about Peoria’s City Hall

Built in 1898 in the center of Downtown, City Hall is a landmark, if perhaps an oft-overlooked one. Here are six facts that you may not know about Peoria’s City Hall.

1. The City Hall of today was only constructed after years of non-constructive debate, according to records produced by City Clerk Beth Ball, during which aldermen couldn’t agree on which national architect to hire to design the building that would replace a much smaller predecessor. That debate was settled only when the City Council decided that City Hall would be designed and built only by Peorians and with, whenever possible, furnishings made in the city. Then-mayor William Allen was selected as the project’s contractor — though he had never built a building before.

Peoria City Hall (LESLIE RENKEN/JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO)

2. At the time of its construction, Peoria’s City Hall was considered a crown jewel among municipal buildings. At its Jan. 5, 1899, dedication, Maj. John Warner (a Civil War hero who served eight terms as mayor) said, “Chicago has one larger and far more expensive, but gloomy and dark within; while this is lightsome, bright and cheerful in every department.”

City Hall council chambers, 1904. (Photo courtesy of Peoria City Hall)

3. A cornerstone of the building was left open for several days when City Hall was constructed, and residents were encouraged to drop in personal or historic items that would be sealed into the building. Items for a second time capsule were collected at the building’s 100th anniversary dedication in 1999.

Members of a youth exchange group from Friedrichshafen, Germany, Peoria’s sister city, and their Peoria hosts climb the steps at Peoria City Hall to the city council chambers where they were to meet with Peoria mayor Jim Ardis during a visit in 2013. (DAVID ZALAZNIK/JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO)

4. Usually a place of policy and procedure, City Hall was, on Oct. 29, 1939, the horrific scene of a murder-suicide. The City Clerk’s office could find no records of the event, which is detailed in a local history compiled by Norm Kelly available through the Peoria Public Library. Articles that appeared the day of the crime in the Evening Star detailed a contentious encounter between David Roe and his wife, Wilma. According to the paper, the couple had spent the morning in meetings with the police chief (the police station was then located next door to City Hall) and a social worker for the Family Welfare Association, located at that time on City Hall’s third floor. During those meetings Wilma Roe said she feared for her life as her husband had threatened her more than once. The discussions, of course, devolved to violence when David Roe shot first his wife, as she tried to flee, and then himself. City Hall staff, reportedly, did not immediately realize a crime had occurred, as police officers had been known to take target practice in the basement.

A mural adorns the ceiling at City Hall near the Fulton Ave. entrance. (FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO)

5. The wall behind where Mayor Jim Ardis sits at City Council meetings is adorned with an elaborate mural depicting muses of learning, peace and medicine along with many symbols of the community and its industries. The artist who commissioned the mural in 1912, however, is rather mysterious. In the early 20th century, struggling artists traveled often from town to town soliciting work. One such artist was hired to decorate the fourth-floor council chambers. Little is known about the man, other than his last name: Peaco.

An elaborate mural, commissioned in 1912 , by the mysterious artist known only as “Peaco” adorns the wall behind Mayor Jim Ardis in the City Council Chambers. (FRED ZWICKY/JOURNAL STAR FILE PHOTO)

6. Twenty-five people were arrested and charged for refusing to leave City Hall in 1969. The arrests, which included the late NAACP leader John Gwynn, were made after a policy session of the council called to consider minority issues in housing, employment and education. The council heard from several groups making recommendations and then adjourned the meeting without a full discussion, according to Journal Star archives. Many of the activists stayed for four hours after the meeting’s conclusion, discussing the issues with the then-city manager, who eventually called police and had them arrested.

4 thoughts on “6 facts about Peoria’s City Hall”

The “mysterious artist known only as ‘Peaco'” is William Peaco of the Andress Decorating Company. William Peaco was a prolific muralist around the turn of the 19th century Examples of his work are found throughout the Midwest in state capital buildings, courthouses, municipal buildings and theaters.